Quick-opening outlet assembly for hopper cars and sanitary seal therefor

ABSTRACT

An outlet assembly for application to hoppers of railroad hopper cars and the like in the form of a frame made up of spaced pairs of longitudinal and transverse frame members joined together and shaped to define a continuation of the hopper car sheets, and slidably mounting a gate for movement between open and closed positions, in which the gate is actuated by an operating shaft that is journaled adjacent the assembly outlet port and between said longitudinal frame members, and has connected thereto at either end of same a crank arm which is pivotally connected to a thrust arm that is in turn connected to a slide bar extending between and slidably mounted in opposed guide slots formed in the longitudinal members. The gate-opening mechanism is arranged for full open and closed positioning of the gate in 180* of movement of the operating shaft, and the assembly is equipped with a sanitary top seal arranged to permit the lading when present to help provide the sealing action at the gate.

United States Patent Chierici Jan. '18, 1972 [54] QUICK-OPENING OUTLET ASSEMBLY FOR HOPPER CARS AND SANITARY [2!] App]. No.: 18,872

[52] US. Cl ..105/282, 105/299 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Attorney-Mann, Brown, McWilliams & Bradway [5 7] ABSTRACT An outlet assembly for application to hoppers of railroad hopper cars and the like in the form of a frame made up of spaced pairs of longitudinal and transverse frame members joined together and shaped to define a continuation of the hopper car sheets, and slidably mounting a gate for movement between open and closed positions, in which the gate is actuated by an operating shaft that is journaled adjacent the assembly outlet port and between said longitudinal frame mem- [51] Int. Cl ..B6ld 7/02 bers, and has connected thereto at either end of same a crank [58] Field-of Search ..105/282, 291, 299; 49/363 arm which is pivotally connected to a thrust arm that is in turn 5 connected to a slide bar extending between and slidably [56] References Cited mounted in opposed guide slots formed in the longitudinal members. The gate-opening mechanism is arranged for full UNITED STATES PATENTS open and closed positioning of the gate :in 180 of movement 3 055 315 9/1962 Dorey ..1o5 2sz R x of the Operating shaft, n the sembly is equipped with a 3 472 178 10/1969 Floehr ..lO5/282 R Sanitary P Seal arranged Pemlit lading when Present m help provide the sealing action at the gate.

12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 80 3O 32 e2. ree s I34 240 I 2 20 I02 :220 56 as 68 i -f n4 l6 2 m 70 5: :11951 J 44 I I76 H i||||| I Q j) 74 iii F QUICK-OPENING OUTLET ASSEMBLY FOR HOPPER (IARS AND SANITARY SEAL THEREFOR This invention relates to outlet gates for railroad hopper cars and the like, and more particularly, to an outlet gate assembly adapted to provide the outlet for hoppers of hopper cars and the like and means to open and close same.

Conventional hopper car outlet gate arrangements are available in a number of forms, but all are generally arranged to define a continuation of the car hopper sheet that narrows down to the outlet port itself, and to provide a gate that moves between open and closed positions to open and close the outlet. Heretofore, the gate-operating mechanism has taken the form of either a rack and gear arrangement requiring a number of rotations of the assembly operating shaft to operate, or a complex connecting linkage extending between the operating shaft and the gate that requires up to 380 of rotation of the operating shaft to move the gate between its open and closed positions. Seal arrangements commercially available and proposed have taken a wide variety of approaches to stop leaking at the gate during transit, but this still remains a major problem in the field.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a hopper car outlet gate arrangement of simplified design having the gate operated by a quick-opening leverage arrangement.

Another principal object of the invention is to provide a quick-opening arrangement for hopper car outlet gates which permits the gate to be fully moved between open and closed positions with a 180 swing of the conventional operator's bar.

Still another principal object of the invention is to provide a sanitary seal arrangement for outlet gates that lets the lading help effect the desired seal.

Still further objects of the invention are to provide an outlet gate arrangement that is composed of few and simple parts, that is uniformly applicable to the various hopper car arrangements available, and that is economical of manufacture, convenient to install and use, and long lived in operation.

In accordance with this invention, the outlet gate assembly comprises a frame consisting of four basic frame elements in the form of a pair of longitudinal members and a pair of transverse members joined together and shaped to define a continuation of the car hopper sheets and the necessary outlet opening that is closed by a gate which is mounted between the longitudinal members for sliding movement between open and closed positions. The gate is operated by an operating shaft joumaled between the longitudinal frame members and located adjacent the outlet opening, which shaft has at either end of same a crank arm that is operably secured to a thrust member, which thrust members are in turn pivotally secured to either end of a slide bar riding in opposed guide slots formed in the frame longitudinal members. The arrangement is such that full movement of the gate between open and closed positions is achieved with 180 movement of the operating shaft.

Associated with the gate frame members is a seal arrangement of the top type that includes strips of flexible material about the port defined by the outlet assembly, arranged in such relation to the port that the weight of lading when present in the hopper will help effect the sealing action at the gate.

Yet other objects, uses and advantages will be obvious or become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a partial plan view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of MG. 1 and showing the gate and its actuating mechanism in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 but showing the gate and its actuating mechanism in the open position; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through to full gate assembly, taken substantially along line li of lFiG. ll.

However, it is to be understood that the specific drawing illustrations provided are supplied primarily to comply with the requirements of the patent code, and that the invention may have other embodiments that will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Reference numeral 10 of the drawings generally indicates one embodiment of my invention which comprises a frame 12 formed by a pair of longitudinal frame members 14 and 16 joined together with a pair of transverse frame members 18 and 20 to define a hopper outlet opening 22. As indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the frame 12 is attached to the lower edges of the hopper car sheets 24, 26, 28 and 30 that define a railroad car hopper 32, the members 14, l6, l8 and 20 being formed to provide continuations of the respective car hopper sheets 24, 26, 28 and 30 that converge in the direction of the outlet opening 22.

Slidably mounted in the frame 12 is an outlet gate 34 that is actuated by an operating shaft 36 joumaled between the longitudinal frame members 14 and 16 and located adjacentthe transverse frame member 20 and the hopper outlet opening 22.

As indicated by FIGS. 2 and 3, the gate 34 is mounted for sliding movement between its open and closed positions. The operating shaft 36 is effective to move the gate between its open and closed positions through a pair of crank arms or levers 38 and 40 fixed to either end of same, which are respectively pivotally connected to a pair of thrust an'ns 42 and 43 that are in turn pivotally connected to the opposed ends of slide bar 44 which is slidably mounted in opposed slots 46 and 48 formed in the respective frame members 14 and 16. Each crank arm 38 has fixed thereto a socket structure 50 adapted to receive one end of the familiar opera'tors lever bar that is conventionally employed to operate outlet gates of railroad hopper cars.

The gate 24 has its rear end 52 connected to the slide bar 44 by connecting structures 54 and its forward end 56 engages supports 58 in the closed position. Gate 34 is supported from beneath by a support structure 60 that is connected between the members 14 and 16, and guide elements 62 and 64 on either side of the hopper outlet opening 22 (see FIG. 4).

Associated with the hopper outlet opening 22 is a seal device 66 in the form of seal stripping 68 secured to the respective members 14, l6, l8 and 20 and overlying the margins of the outlet opening 22 to define a flexible edge portion or lip 70 in circumambient relation about outlet opening 22 that engages the gate when the gate is in its closed position. Seal device 66 is arranged such that when the gate is in its closed position, the lading present in the hopper opening 22 will bear against the edge portion 70 about the perimeter of the hopper opening 22 to in turn press edge portion 70 against the gate and thus seal off the opening 22 against leakage. The seal 68 is preferably formed from urethane or its equivalent having a durometer on the order of 70 for high abrasion resistance and low coefficient of friction characteristics to avoid wear and undue restraint on discharge from the hopper.

As is apparent from the showing of FIGS. 2 and 3, the gate 34 is moved between its open and closed positions by approximately a pivotal action of operating shaft 36 when a conventional operating bar is applied to one of the socket structures 50.

Insofar as the seal device 66 is concerned, this device is effective under the weight of the rather small amount of the load within the hopper 32 that has been found to actually bear on gate 34 to hold the edge portion 70 of the seal against the gate. Thus, seal 66 can be relied upon to maintain a uniform seal about the gate 34 when the latter is in its closed position, and it being a top seal, it is protected against foreign matter and inury in service.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION While the apparatus has been shown applied to a hopper 32 of a railroad hopper car, it will be apparent that the apparatus 10 is generally applicable to hoppers in general as a subassembly for providing an outlet opening and controlling gate therefor.

The sheets 24, 26, 28 and 30 are intended to represent the slope sheets conventionally encountered in standard hopper car arrangements, it being standard practice to terminate such sheets where indicated at 80 for application to the hopper 32 of an assembly such as assembly or apparatus 10.

Longitudinal frame member 14 generally comprises a body portion 82 and a projecting portion 84. Member 14 is shaped to define a web portion 86 and an outwardly extending flange portion 88 extending the length thereof with the web portion 86 in the area of body portion 82 thereof merging into the outwardly angled flange portion 90 that extends up to the upper edge 92 of the body portion 82 of member 14. The projecting portion 84 of member 14 is suitably shaped as at 94 to define the slot 46 that receives the slide bar 44, slot 46 having a wear plate structure 96 applied thereabout on which the slide bar actually rides.

Frame member 16 is formed in a manner similar to frame member 14, frame member 16 comprising body portion 100 and projecting portion 102. Member 16 comprises web portion 104 rising from outwardly projecting marginal flange 106 and merging to the outwardly diverging flange portion 108 that corresponds to portion 90 of member 14 and terminates at edge 110. Member 16 is formed as at 112 to define slot 48 that corresponds to slot 46 of member 14, and which has applied thereabout wear plate structure 114 that is the same as wear plate structure 96.

The body portions 90 and 108 of the respective members 14 and 16 are fixed to slope sheets 24 and 26, respectively, in any suitable manner, as by welding, and are positioned so that their respective projecting portions 84 and 102 extend in substantial parallelism and in the same direction from the hopper 32, and are disposed substantially horizontally. Under ordinary circumstances, the members 14 and 16 extend longitudinally of the rail vehicle when the apparatus 10 is applied to a rail vehicle.

Transverse frame member 18 comprises a plate 120 fixed between the body portions of members 14 and 16 and welded to the car slope sheet 28e Welded to the lower edge 128 of sheet 120 is marginal flange 130 that is suitably reinforced by one or more gusset es 132.

v Transverse mem comprises plate 134 fixed as by welding between V y portions of longitudinal frame members 14 and l6and having its lower edge 136 disposed above and closely adjacent the path of movement of gate 34.

Bridge structure 60 is fixed between the members 14 and 16 and comprises an upper wear plate member 140 on which the gate 34 rides and having a downwardly angled flange portion 142 that is disposed in coplanar relation to plate 134. Depending from the wear plate 140 is angle member 144 defining a ledge 146 that is adapted to receive a conventional boot plate (not shown) for the purpose of closing off the gate 34 from foreign matter accumulation during transit. Plate 148 fixed in parallel relation above ledge portion 146 defines the boot guard pocket or slot 150 in which one edge of the boot plate is received, and member 144 and plate 148 define a boot guard 151.

The gate guide 62 comprises a short length of rod 152 fixed to the frame member 14 as by welding. Similarly, guide element 64 comprises a length of rodding 154 fixed to the member 16 as by welding. The ends 153 and 155 of the respective rod elements 152 and 154 are downwardly directed, as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3, for reinforcing purposes, ends 155 also acting as a guide for the forward end of the gate.

The gate front edge supports 58 each comprise a lug element 160 having a rounded corner 162 facing the gate 34. Lug

elements are fixed to the frame member 18 as by welding and in horizontal alignment across the length thereof, as indicated in FIG. 4.

The projecting portions 84 and 102 of the respective members 14 and 16 are joined together by angle member 166 that is welded therebetween.

Gate 34 comprises a plate 170 having its end 56 chamfered as at 172 to form the leading edge of the gate. Plate member 170 is substantially rectangular in configuration and has fixed to its rear edge 52 the connecting structures 54, each of which comprises a bar element 174 having a lug 176 affixed thereto which is formed with a bore 178 to receive the slide bar 44.

The slide bar 144 comprises a rod or shaft 180 that-extends through the respective slots 46 and 48 of the members 14 and 16. Thrust members 42 are received over the respective ends of the bar or rods 180 and are held in place by suitable washers 182 (see FIG. 1) that are in turn secured in place by suitable cotter pins 184. I

Thrust arms 42 and 43 each comprise a bar 186 having rectilinear end portions 188 and 190 connected by a slanted portion 192. The end portions 188 of the respective bars 186 are received over the respective ends of the slide bars 44, while the end portions 190 are respectively pivoted to crank arms 38 by suitable pins 193 held in place by a cotter pin 194.

Crank arms 38 and 40 each comprise a bar element 196 having end portions 198 and 200 connected together by a slanted portion 202. The pin 192 is received through the end portion 200 of the respective bars 196 while their ends 198 are received over and suitably fixed as by welding to squared end portions 204 of operating shaft 36. As indicated in FIG. 1, the slanted portions 192 and 202 of the respective pairs of bars 186 and 196 are angled axially of the operating shaft 36 to avoid interference with the slope sheets 24 and 26.

The bar 196 forming the respective crank anns 38 and 40 has fixed thereto an upstanding lu'g 206 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) that is slotted as at 208 to receive a conventional sealing ribbon that is also applied through a slot 210 formed in the respective thrust members 42 and 43. In the closed position of the gate 34, the slots 208 and 210 are aligned for application of the sealing ribbon thereto, and preferably the crank arm 38 and thrust member 42 on both sides of the car are similarly equipped to receive such sealing ribbons.

The bar elements 186 and 196 are interchangeable on either side of the assembly 10 to form the respective members 38, 40, and 42, 43. The socket structures 50 each comprise a tubular member 211 of suitable rugged construction fixed to the respective bar elements 186 and 196 and defining a bore 213 therethrough in which the working end of the conventional operating bar is received to move the gate between its open and closed positions.

The operating shaft 36 is received through a tubular member 212 that is fixed between the frame members 14 and 16 and is fixed to plate 20 as by welding at 214.

As indicated in FIG. 2, the bars 186 comprising the respective thrust members 42 and 43 are angled in a vertical plane such that their end portion 188 and their angled portions 192 form a corner portion 216 (see FIG. 2) that is received over the operating rod or shaft 36 in the closed position of the gate 34, in which position the pin 193 is disposed just below a plane connecting the centers of the slide bar 44 and the operating shaft 36. In this position, the crank arms 38 and 40 are substantially horizontally disposed and the overcenter position of pins 193 provides a locking action preventing the gate from sliding in an opening direction. When the operating shaft 36 is operated to move the gate to its fully opened position (see FIG. 3), crank anns 38 and 40 are swung approximately 180 to a substantially horizontal position extending in the opposite direction, in which position crank arms 38 and 40 ar id arm portions 192 of thrust members 42 and 43 are ti'atially aligned in the plane of arms 38 and 40, the leading edge 56 of the gate having been withdrawn from under the seal 68 to permit free flow of the lading through the outlet opening 22; in

such position operating shaft 36, pins 192 and slide bar 44 are near alignment in a common plane, the arrangement preferably being such that ends of slots 46 and 48 hold the swing levers 38 and 40 from going beyond a dead-center position.

The seal stripping 68 of seal device 66 comprises a onepiece seal element 218 comprising rectilinear portions 220, 222, 224 and 226 suitably bonded to their respective backing plates 228, 230, 232 and 234, with the latter being respectively spot or otherwise suitably welded in place against the respective frame members and the frame 12. As indicated, it is preferred that the seal element 218 be formed from urethane or its equivalent having a durometer of approximately 70, and it is bonded in any suitable manner to backing plates 228, 230, 232 and 234. (which may be suitably united in one-piece form).

At the four comers of the opening 22, the seal element 218 includes smoothly curved corner portions 236 that extend between adjacent ends of the seal rectilinear portions.

As indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the seal portions 220 and 224 have a triangular cross-sectional configuration and define edge portions 240 and 242 which are disposed in overlying relation relative to the hopper opening 22, above the lower edges of transverse members 18 and 20. At the longitudinal frame members 14 and 16, the seal portions 222 and 226 also have a triangular cross-sectional configuration and define overlying edge portions 244 and 246 that are respectively aligned with edge portions 240 and 242 (and the corresponding edge portions 247 of corner portions 236) in a horizontal plane to define the seal edge portion 70. Comer portions 236 are shaped to complement the seal rectilinear portions they abut.

The seal edge portions 240, 242, 244, 246 and 247 are disposed to have wiping engagement with the top surface 71 of gate 34, backing plates 230 and 234 also serving as guides for the side edges of the gate 34 (see FIG. 4). It will be noted from FIGS. 2 and 4 that, when the gate is in its closed position, the gate at its four edges underlies the edge portion 70 of the seal.

The seal arrangement of this invention has a special significance in this art. There has been much work done over the years to develop an adequate seal for outlet gate arrangements with only nominal success due to the fact that much of the lading carried in hopper cars is of substantially free-flowing nature and an opening no larger than one-eighth of an inch in the outlet area can result in a loss of a considerable amount of lading even though the seal as a whole is working efficiently.

l have found in my studies of this problem that while the weight of the load is frequently relied upon to help effect the seal at the outlet gate, the actual weight bearing on the gate is not to be measured by the full vertical dimension of lading up to the top of the hopper, but rather by the vertical dimension of a pyramidal section of the load that is actually resting on the outlet gate due to the well-known arching effect of many forms of fine grain ladings such as cement. Thus, the weight of the load acting on the gate that is effective for seal forming purposes may be on the order of 250 pounds rather than the weight of all that part of the load which is in vertical alignment with the gate.

The arrangement of the seal 66 is such that this rather small pyramidal section of the lading functions to hold the lip or edge 70 that is defined by the seal in sealing engagement with the upper surface 71 of the gate when the gate is in its closed position.

As seal 66 is disposed above the gate 34, and thus is a top seal, it is protected against foreign matter accumulations that are normally experienced on the undersides of railroad cars. This keeping of the seal free from foreign matter is especially important in connection with materials intended for human consumption, such as flour.

The material preferred for making the seal 68 has high abrasion resistance and low coefficient of friction, thereby avoiding wear and undue restraint on discharge from the hopper. This material also is impervious to steam and all petroleum products, is ozone free, and has, in general a good life duration. The seal 66 can be easily cleaned because of its close adjacency to the outlet openings, and its comparatively smooth contour; its ready cleanability and protected location give it important sanitary characteristics.

The shape of the seal 66 and its location in the hopper funneling portion prevent the seal from falling out in the event it becomes loosened, and the seal 66 may be readily replaced with a new seal 66 by disconnectingthe backing plates of the old seal from the hopper sheets and spotwelding the backing plates of the new seal in its place.

By having the socket structures 50 secured to the respective crank arms 38 in the positions indicated, rather than employ ing the conventional operating head 62 on the ends of the operating shaft, an additional operating leverage is provided which in practice may be on the order of 6 inches over the standard operating head.

As already indicated, when the gate 34 is closed, a conventional boot is applied to boot guard pocket 150, and is held in position by being clamped to flanges 88, 106 and by conventional boot clips (not shown).

It will therefore be seen that I have provided a simplified outlet gate assembly arrangement that provides for quick opening of the gate and an effective seal against load loss. The assembly is of few and simple parts and is reliable and long lived in operation.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate my invention and the invention is not to be limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since those skilled in the art who have my disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

lclaim:

ll. An outlet assembly for a hopper having a discharge opening, said assembly comprising:

a frame formed to define an outlet port and including a pair of spaced-apart parallel members projecting laterally of said port from one side of same,

an operating shaft journaled in said frame adjacent said one side of said opening and extending between said parallel members and transversely thereof,

a slide bar extending between said parallel members and mounted for sliding movement longitudinally of said parallel members,

a gate carried by said frame and mounted for movement longitudinally of said parallel members between a first position in which said gate closes said port and a second position in which said gate is positioned to open said port,

said gate being connected to said slide bar,

a thrust arm having one end thereof connected to said slide bar,

a crank arm keyed to said operating shaft and operatively connected to the other end of said thrust arm,

and means for actuating said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft,

whereby on actuation of said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft, said thrust arm acts on said slide bar to move said gate between said positions.

2. An outlet assembly for a hopper having a discharge opening, said assembly comprising:

a frame comprising:

a pair of spaced-apart longitudinal frame members,

a pair of spaced-apart transverse frame members,

said frame members being joined together to define a discharge port with one of said transverse frame members connecting like ends of said longitudinal frame members and the other of said transverse frame members being disposed intermediate the ends of the respective longitudinal frame members, whereby the other end of said longitudinal frame members project away from said discharge port,

an operating shaft journaled between said longitudinal frame members adjacent said other transverse frame member,

a slide bar extending between said longitudinal frame members and mounted for sliding movement longitudinally of said longitudinal frame members, and between the projecting portions of same,

a gate slidably carried by said frame and mounted for movement between a first position in which it closes said port and a second position in which it is disposed to one side of said port to open same,

said gate being connected to said slide bar,

a thrust arm connected to said slide bar at one end of said arm,

a crank arm carried by said operating shaft and operatively connected to the other end of said thrust arm, to rotate said operating shaft,

and means for actuating said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft,

whereby on actuation of said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft, said thrust arm acts on said slide bar to move said gate between said positions.

3. The assembly set forth in claim 2 wherein:

the path of movement of said slide bar, and said operating shaft are substantially coplanar,

said slide bar being disposed adjacent said operating shaft when said gate is in its said first position,

said thrust bar being angled to permit said crank arm to have approximately 180 of throw with said crank arm being disposed substantially parallel to said path of movement of said slide bar when said gate is in said positions.

4. The assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein:

said frame members about said port defining a funnelshaped configuration above said gate,

said thrust bar and said crank arm being angled at complementing angles axially of said operating shaft to accommodate said funneling configuration.

5. The assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein:

said operating shaft and said slide bar project outwardly of said longitudinal frame members,

said thrust arm and crank arm being disposed outwardly of one of said longitudinal frame members at like ends of said shaft and slide bar,

and including a like thrust arm and crank arm at the other ends of said shaft and slide bar and disposed outwardly of the other of said longitudinal frame members.

6. The assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein:

said slide bar is mounted in opposed parallel slots formed in said longitudinal members and extending longitudinally of said members,

said slots defining the path of movement of said slide bar.

7. The assembly set forth in claim 6 including a bridge member extending between said longitudinal members adjacent said other transverse member and below same,

said gate riding on said bridge member,

said slots and said bridge member defining the path of movement of said gate between said positions.

8. The assembly set forth in claim 7 including:

flexible seal strip means secured in circumambient relation about said port above but adjacent to said path of movement of said gate,

with the inner border of said seal strip means projecting toward the midportion of said port and being disposed to overhang the'margin of said port and engage the upper surface of said gate when said gate is in its said first positron,

whereby the weight of the bulk material above said strip means holds said seal strip means in sealing engagement with said gate.

9. An outlet arrangement for a hopper having a discharge opening, said arrangement comprising:

a frame formed to define an outlet port and including a pair of spaced-apart parallel members projecting laterally of said port from one side of same,

an operating shaft journaled in said frame adjacent said one side of said opening and extending between said parallel members and transversely thereof, a slide bar extending between and through said parallel members and mounted in same for sliding movement longitudinally of said parallel members,

a gate carried by said frame and mounted for movement longitudinally of said parallel members between a first position in which said gate closes said port and a second position in which said gate is positioned to open said port,

said gate being connected to said slide bar,

and quick-opening linkage means interconnected between the adjacent ends of said slide bar and said operating shaft on either side of said parallel members,

said linkage means each comprising:

a thrust arm having one end of same connected to said slide bar,

a crank arm keyed to said operating shaft and pivotally connected to the other end of said thrust arm,

said thrust and crank arms being proportioned and oriented such that rotation of said operating shaft causes said thrust arm to move said gate through said slide bar between said positions thereof with said crank being substantially horizontally disposed in each said position,

said crank arms each including a socket structure spaced from said operating shaft to receive a crank bar to rotate said crank shaft to actuate said quick-opening linkage means.

10. The arrangement set forth in claim 9 including:

flexible seal strip means secured in circumambient relation about said port above but adjacent to the path of movement of said gate,

with the inner border of said seal strip means projecting toward the midportion of said port and being disposed to overhang the margin of said port and engage the upper surface of said gate when said gate is in its said first positron,

whereby the weight of the bulk material above said strip means holds said seal strip means in sealing engagement with said gate.

11. In an outlet arrangement for a hopper having a discharge opening, and a gate movable across said opening to open and close same, a seal arrangement therefor comprising:

flexible seal strip means secured in circumambient relation about said port above but adjacent to the path of movement of said gate,

with the inner border of said seal strip means projecting toward the midportion of said port and being disposed to overhang the margin of said port and engage the upper surface of said gate when said gate is in its port closing position,

whereby the weight of the bulk material above said strip means holds said seal strip means in sealing engagement with said gate.

12. The seal arrangement set forth in claim 11 wherein:

said seal strip means comprises a length of resiliently flexible material that is thickened along said inner border of said strip means for overlying relationship with said port when said gate is in its port open position.

a a: a 

1. An outlet assembly for a hopper having a discharge opening, said assembly comprising: a frame formed to define an outlet port and including a pair of spaced-apart parallel members projecting laterally of said port from one side of same, an operating shaft journaled in said frame adjacent said one side of said opening and extending between said parallel members and transversely thereof, a slide bar extending between said parallel members and mounted for sliding movement longiTudinally of said parallel members, a gate carried by said frame and mounted for movement longitudinally of said parallel members between a first position in which said gate closes said port and a second position in which said gate is positioned to open said port, said gate being connected to said slide bar, a thrust arm having one end thereof connected to said slide bar, a crank arm keyed to said operating shaft and operatively connected to the other end of said thrust arm, and means for actuating said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft, whereby on actuation of said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft, said thrust arm acts on said slide bar to move said gate between said positions.
 2. An outlet assembly for a hopper having a discharge opening, said assembly comprising: a frame comprising: a pair of spaced-apart longitudinal frame members, a pair of spaced-apart transverse frame members, said frame members being joined together to define a discharge port with one of said transverse frame members connecting like ends of said longitudinal frame members and the other of said transverse frame members being disposed intermediate the ends of the respective longitudinal frame members, whereby the other end of said longitudinal frame members project away from said discharge port, an operating shaft journaled between said longitudinal frame members adjacent said other transverse frame member, a slide bar extending between said longitudinal frame members and mounted for sliding movement longitudinally of said longitudinal frame members, and between the projecting portions of same, a gate slidably carried by said frame and mounted for movement between a first position in which it closes said port and a second position in which it is disposed to one side of said port to open same, said gate being connected to said slide bar, a thrust arm connected to said slide bar at one end of said arm, a crank arm carried by said operating shaft and operatively connected to the other end of said thrust arm, to rotate said operating shaft, and means for actuating said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft, whereby on actuation of said crank arm to rotate said operating shaft, said thrust arm acts on said slide bar to move said gate between said positions.
 3. The assembly set forth in claim 2 wherein: the path of movement of said slide bar, and said operating shaft are substantially coplanar, said slide bar being disposed adjacent said operating shaft when said gate is in its said first position, said thrust bar being angled to permit said crank arm to have approximately 180* of throw with said crank arm being disposed substantially parallel to said path of movement of said slide bar when said gate is in said positions.
 4. The assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein: said frame members about said port defining a funnel-shaped configuration above said gate, said thrust bar and said crank arm being angled at complementing angles axially of said operating shaft to accommodate said funneling configuration.
 5. The assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein: said operating shaft and said slide bar project outwardly of said longitudinal frame members, said thrust arm and crank arm being disposed outwardly of one of said longitudinal frame members at like ends of said shaft and slide bar, and including a like thrust arm and crank arm at the other ends of said shaft and slide bar and disposed outwardly of the other of said longitudinal frame members.
 6. The assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein: said slide bar is mounted in opposed parallel slots formed in said longitudinal members and extending longitudinally of said members, said slots defining the path of movement of said slide bar.
 7. The assembly set forth in claim 6 including a bridge member extending between said longitudinal members adjacent said other transverse member and bElow same, said gate riding on said bridge member, said slots and said bridge member defining the path of movement of said gate between said positions.
 8. The assembly set forth in claim 7 including: flexible seal strip means secured in circumambient relation about said port above but adjacent to said path of movement of said gate, with the inner border of said seal strip means projecting toward the midportion of said port and being disposed to overhang the margin of said port and engage the upper surface of said gate when said gate is in its said first position, whereby the weight of the bulk material above said strip means holds said seal strip means in sealing engagement with said gate.
 9. An outlet arrangement for a hopper having a discharge opening, said arrangement comprising: a frame formed to define an outlet port and including a pair of spaced-apart parallel members projecting laterally of said port from one side of same, an operating shaft journaled in said frame adjacent said one side of said opening and extending between said parallel members and transversely thereof, a slide bar extending between and through said parallel members and mounted in same for sliding movement longitudinally of said parallel members, a gate carried by said frame and mounted for movement longitudinally of said parallel members between a first position in which said gate closes said port and a second position in which said gate is positioned to open said port, said gate being connected to said slide bar, and quick-opening linkage means interconnected between the adjacent ends of said slide bar and said operating shaft on either side of said parallel members, said linkage means each comprising: a thrust arm having one end of same connected to said slide bar, a crank arm keyed to said operating shaft and pivotally connected to the other end of said thrust arm, said thrust and crank arms being proportioned and oriented such that 180* rotation of said operating shaft causes said thrust arm to move said gate through said slide bar between said positions thereof with said crank being substantially horizontally disposed in each said position, said crank arms each including a socket structure spaced from said operating shaft to receive a crank bar to rotate said crank shaft to actuate said quick-opening linkage means.
 10. The arrangement set forth in claim 9 including: flexible seal strip means secured in circumambient relation about said port above but adjacent to the path of movement of said gate, with the inner border of said seal strip means projecting toward the midportion of said port and being disposed to overhang the margin of said port and engage the upper surface of said gate when said gate is in its said first position, whereby the weight of the bulk material above said strip means holds said seal strip means in sealing engagement with said gate.
 11. In an outlet arrangement for a hopper having a discharge opening, and a gate movable across said opening to open and close same, a seal arrangement therefor comprising: flexible seal strip means secured in circumambient relation about said port above but adjacent to the path of movement of said gate, with the inner border of said seal strip means projecting toward the midportion of said port and being disposed to overhang the margin of said port and engage the upper surface of said gate when said gate is in its port closing position, whereby the weight of the bulk material above said strip means holds said seal strip means in sealing engagement with said gate.
 12. The seal arrangement set forth in claim 11 wherein: said seal strip means comprises a length of resiliently flexible material that is thickened along said inner border of said strip means for overlying relationship with said port when said gate is in its port open position. 